Cougar Video, Plus an Attack in Michigan

Interrupting this week's series on Edgar Allan Poe's orangutans for a couple of items about mountain lions. First, there's this interesting video. A mountain lion takes a long look at whoever's holding the camera. (Thanks to Greyson for the tip.)

In a different story, a woman in Michigan may have been attacked by a mountain lion.

"Connie VenRoy, 44, stepped outside her door near the corner of 92nd Avenue and Lake Michigan Drive in the early morning hours of Dec. 16 to smoke a cigarette. Suddenly she heard thrashing ("like 10 men") in the tarp that covers a vehicle stored to the left of the door. It frightened her so much she instinctively dropped her cigarette, turned, and reached for the doorknob to get back inside.

Out of the darkness something came across the hood of the vehicle and hurled itself through the air, slamming against her right leg as she faced the door. VenRoy said she could see the animal's flat face, and teeth in an open mouth, a long body and tail. The open mouth hit her leg, but the animal did not bite, she said. It dropped to the ground. She screamed and kicked at it. It turned back to run around the vehicle, then disappeared.

VenRoy's father, Art VenRoy, who lives in the upper level of the house, came out with his shotgun to see if there was any sign of the animal, but could see nothing. "

Is whispering "Go on" the logical course of action when encountering these things in the wild? I fear they would have had to stamp "Cat Chow" on my toe tag and called it a day, I would have had a heart attack, lol. (Dee)